Effects of parental involvement in education - a case study in namibia

Effects of parental involvement in education - a case study in namibia

M.A. Thesis - Education - In my research, I endeavour to ascertain how parental involvement at Combretum Trust School in Namibia affects the academic achievement of students. In the educational literature it is often claimed that involvement of parents results in better academic achievement than if parents are not involved. The aim of the research is to see if this relationship exists at a school in Namibia, a developing country that faces many educational challenges. In this case study a qualitative research approach was used. Data was gathered by interviewing parents of seven students at Combretum Trust School in Windhoek, who all have achieved academically. The objective of the interviews was to learn if and how the parents are involved in their children’s education. In addition, I wanted to gain information as to the experiences and attitudes of those parents towards their children’s education and education in general. The main findings are that all the parents who were interviewed are highly involved with their children’s education. They have high expectations towards their children’s education and their future. In addition, they are all quite vocal about their expectations to their children. The parents all recognise the importance of staying involved with their child’s education and participate fully. All the parents want to know how their child spends his or her time outside of school and with whom their child spends his or her time. Most of the parents consider themselves to have a good relationship with their child’s teachers and the school. Homework is considered to be important by each parent and they all assist their child with homework if the need arises. Thus, it may be concluded that by staying involved with their children’s education in this way the parents do impact positively on the academic achievement of the students chosen for this study at Combretum Trust School in Namibia.

Guðlaug Erlendsdóttir

http://skemman.is/en/item/view/1946/6925

University of Iceland

2010

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English